DAILY MAGAZINE

Palestinian demonstrator hurls back a tear gas canister fired by Israeli forces during protest marking the 71st anniversary of 'Nakba' at the Israel-Gaza border fence in the southern Gaza Strip

A Palestinian demonstrator hurls back a tear gas canister fired by Israeli forces during a protest marking the 71st anniversary of the 'Nakba', or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were [...]

A firefighter tries to extinguish fire on the Israeli side of the border fence between Israel and Gaza

Woman holding a Palestinian flag gestures in front of Israeli forces during protest marking the 71st anniversary of 'Nakba' at the Israel-Gaza border fence in the southern Gaza Strip

A woman holding a Palestinian flag gestures in front of Israeli forces during a protest marking the 71st anniversary of the 'Nakba', or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced from[...]

Palestinian demonstrators take cover during protest marking the 71st anniversary of 'Nakba' at the Israel-Gaza border fence in the southern Gaza Strip

Palestinian demonstrators take cover during a protest marking the 71st anniversary of the 'Nakba', or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced from their homes in the war surroundin[...]

Palestinian demonstrators gesture in front of Israeli forces during protest marking the 71st anniversary of 'Nakba' at the Israel-Gaza border fence in the southern Gaza Strip

Palestinian demonstrators gesture in front of Israeli forces during a protest marking the 71st anniversary of the 'Nakba', or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced from their hom[...]

Wounded Palestinian boy is evacuated during protest marking the 71st anniversary of 'Nakba' at the Israel-Gaza border fence in the southern Gaza Strip

A wounded Palestinian boy is evacuated during a protest marking the 71st anniversary of the 'Nakba', or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced from their homes in the war surround[...]

Demonstrators hold Palestinian flags during protest marking the 71st anniversary of 'Nakba' near the Israel-Gaza border fence in the southern Gaza Strip

Demonstrators hold Palestinian flags during a protest marking the 71st anniversary of the 'Nakba', or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced from their homes in the war surroundin[...]

Palestinian demonstrator hurls back a tear gas canister fired by Israeli forces during a protest marking the 71st anniversary of 'Nakba' near the Israel-Gaza border fence east of Gaza City

A Palestinian demonstrator hurls back a tear gas canister fired by Israeli forces during a protest marking the 71st anniversary of the 'Nakba', or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were [...]

Israeli border policeman aims his weapon during a Palestinian protest marking the 71st anniversary of 'Nakba', and against Eurovision Song Contest hosted by Israel, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank

An Israeli border policeman aims his weapon during a Palestinian protest marking the 71st anniversary of the 'Nakba', or catastrophe, and against Eurovision Song Contest hosted by Israel, in Bethlehem[...]

Palestinian demonstrator with an amputated leg takes part in a protest marking the 71st anniversary of 'Nakba' near the Israel-Gaza border fence east of Gaza City

A Palestinian demonstrator with an amputated leg takes part in a protest marking the 71st anniversary of the 'Nakba', or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced from their homes in[...]

Palestinians gather during a protest marking the 71st anniversary of 'Nakba' near the Israel-Gaza border fence in the southern Gaza Strip

Palestinians gather during a protest marking the 71st anniversary of the 'Nakba', or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced from their homes in the war surrounding Israel's indepe[...]

Israeli border policeman stands guard during a Palestinian protest marking the 71st anniversary of the 'Nakba', and against Eurovision Song Contest hosted by Israel, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank

An Israeli border policeman stands guard during a Palestinian protest marking the 71st anniversary of the 'Nakba', or catastrophe, and against Eurovision Song Contest hosted by Israel, in Bethlehem in[...]

Palestinians gather during a protest marking the 71st anniversary of 'Nakba' near the Israel-Gaza border fence east of Gaza City

Palestinians gather during a protest marking the 71st anniversary of the 'Nakba', or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced from their homes in the war surrounding Israel's indepe[...]

Israeli border policeman pushes back Palestinian demonstrator during a protest against Eurovision Song Contest hosted by Israel and marking the 71st anniversary of 'Nakba' in the Israeli-occupied West Bank

An Israeli border policeman pushes back a Palestinian demonstrator during a protest against Eurovision Song Contest hosted by Israel and marking the 71st anniversary of the 'Nakba', or catastrophe, in[...]

Palestinians take part in a rally marking the 71st anniversary of the 'Nakba' in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank

Palestinians take part in a rally marking the 71st anniversary of the 'Nakba', or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced from their homes in the war surrounding Israel's independe[...]

Palestinian refugee Lutfiya Abu Zaid, 84, holds a prayer bead-roll at her home in Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank

Palestinian refugee Lutfiya Abu Zaid, 84, who said that she was forced from her home in the war surrounding Israel's independence in 1948, holds a prayer bead-roll at her home in Jenin refugee camp in[...]

Palestinian refugee Sobha Abd Rabo and her sister Soma'a pose for a photo in Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank

Palestinian refugee Sobha Abd Rabo and her sister Soma'a, who said that they were forced from their home in the war surrounding Israel's independence in 1948, pose for a photo in Jenin refugee camp in[...]

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli troops wounded nearly 50 Palestinians at the Gaza border on Wednesday during protests to mark the 71st anniversary of the "Nakba", or catastrophe, when many Palestinians lost their homes in the fighting around Israel's creation, Gaza officials said.

Thousands had gathered at the coastal enclave's frontier with Israel, the scene of bloodshed over the past year that has raised international concern.

Groups approached the border fence, planting Palestinian flags and throwing stones toward Israeli soldiers on the other side despite the efforts of marshalls in orange vests to keep protesters away from the barrier, witnesses said.

Israeli troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets to repel them, but also live ammunition, the witnesses said.

The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 47 people were wounded, though it was not clear how many of those were hit by live ammunition or were hurt by rubber bullets or by inhaling tear gas.

The Israeli military said about 10,000 rioters and demonstrators gathered in several places along the Gaza Strip fence.

"The rioters are setting tyres on fire and hurling rocks. A number of explosive devices have been hurled within the Gaza Strip, as well, and a number of attempts have been made to approach the security fence. IDF troops are responding with riot dispersal means."

Wednesday's rallies were called to mark Nakba Day, what Palestinians term the catastrophe that befell them at Israel's creation in 1948, when hundreds of thousands fled or were expelled from lands in what is now Israel.

"Our people rise today to announce their rejection to this crime and to assert their right in Palestine, all of Palestine," Islamic Jihad leader Khader Habib said at one demonstration, referring to Israel and the territories it captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

"Palestine is ours, the sea is ours, the sky is ours and the land is ours, and those strangers must be removed," he said.

Another protester, Jamila Mahmoud, 50, said her family had originally come from Asqlan, now the Israeli city of Ashkelon, near Gaza.

"If we don't return, maybe our children and grandchildren will do, one day we will get our rights back," Mahmoud said at the border protest site.

Palestinians also held rallies in the occupied West Bank but no major clashes with Israeli forces were immediately reported.

This year's Nakba protests were preceded by a surge in deadly cross-border fighting between Gaza militants and Israel which ended in a ceasefire on May 6.

Israeli troops have killed more than 200 Palestinians and wounded thousands in regular border protests since March 2018, according to human rights groups. U.N. investigators have said the Israeli military might be guilty of war crimes for using excessive force.

Israel has said it is defending its border against attacks against its troops and infiltration attempts by gunmen.

Israel has rejected a Palestinian right of return as a threat to maintaining a Jewish majority in a country it describes as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

Frustration is growing among Palestinians as hopes fade for a two-state solution to the conflict which would give them an independent country. President Donald Trump's announcement in December 2017 of U.S. recognition of disputed Jerusalem as Israel's capital also fueled Palestinian anger.

Eyad Hallaq liked to watch cartoons. Early on Saturday, the 32-year-old Palestinian with severe autism was chased by Israeli border police forces into a nook in Jerusalem's Old City and fatally shot as he cowered next to a garbage bin after apparently being mistaken for an attacker. The shooting has drawn comparisons to the death of George Floyd in the U.S. and prompted a series of small demonstrations against police violence toward Palestinians.

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department has opened an internal investigation into an officer who shot a woman in the head with a foam rubber bullet at a protest on Sunday, fracturing her eye socket and leaving her bloody and stunned.

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